It never occurred to me when I started blogging in 2005 that my little blog would resonate and reach a wide audience for years and years, but just in the past few days I have been reminded of the power of the blog.
I was contacted by one of my Hasty cousins the other day, a man named Gordon. He had come across one of my blog entries related to the Hastys. (My mother's father was Bob Hasty, a much loved and important person in my early childhood, gone too soon in 1972.) This cousin was the grandson of one of my grandfather's brothers, I thought. After I checked my genealogy notes on the Hastys I realized I was wrong. Gordon isn't a second cousin, he's more like a 5th cousin. That's fine. I still claim him. Our great great great grandfathers were siblings. I wasn't able to tell him much about his branch of the family, but another cousin emailed him and told him more.
Genealogy can be awfully dry and boring if you just consider the birth and death dates and know a few facts about the person. What makes it fascinating is when you find out stories about the ancestors. Then it comes alive.
For instance, one of my Hasty ancestors was a Confederate "sharpshooter" [sniper] in the Civil War. My brother is a shooting enthusiast, and often enters competitions. He works for a company that sells guns to the public and to police departments across South Carolina. Is it in our genes? Who knows.
Another fun fact, the Civil War divided the Hasty family, as it did so many families. Here's what my cousin Jan, the family historian, said:
Marcus Hasty with his daughters, Emeline and Sarah are buried with their husbands at Long Swamp Baptist Church Cemetery, Tate, Georgia. Marcus died in 1862. He and Emeline I know were strong Union supported while John T Hasty with his oldest Son, William Pinkney Hasty and his brother in law, Thomas Nelson were in the Confederate Army on the way to Vicksburg, MS.
From what Fred Hasty(grandson of Jesse Ervin Hasty) told me, Nancy Arminda Jones Hasty was half Cherokee. She would get Marcus to take her to Oklahoma to visit her family in the summer. They had been on the Trail of Tears [Nancy's family members]. I don't know how many years they did this. Marcus was in the War of 1812.
There is reason to believe that a couple of my ancestors were Cherokee girls who married white men. My uncle told me that was pretty common in North Georgia in the 19th century. Did they marry to keep from being removed and sent out west? Who knows. It's a fascinating question, though.
As a side note, I have written an article for Georgia Backroads magazine about a local man's search for the lost Cherokee Removal fort, Fort Buffington, in Cobb County, Georgia. Some of my Butler ancestors helped the government remove the Cherokee, and it's likely some of the Cherokee were related to me as well. [Not sure if my article will be in the Winter 2018 or Spring 2018 edition, but it's a terrific magazine.]
History can be complicated.
Another reader of my blog emailed me about a post I did a few years ago, Mesothelioma Awareness Day. This year it's on the 26th of September, which is next Tuesday. It's an important issue, because so many people have been exposed to asbestos and don't realize the health consequences.
It's mind-boggling to me to ponder how many things in our environment [lead, asbestos, even secondhand smoke] we have been exposed to in the past hundred years or so. People exposed to asbestos may face scary challenges. As we become more aware of the toxins all around us, I hope and pray we can learn how to detect and avoid all those things. How many folks have died because of exposure to things like that?
Those of us in the United States are fortunate to have [relatively] clean air and drinking water. Other countries are not so fortunate.
I wonder how many miscarriages and birth defects are caused by environmental factors? China is one of the most polluted countries in the world, and many babies are born missing limbs and/or with serious organ defects because of exposure to pollutants in the air and water. I have long wondered if there is an environmental cause for autism. I don't think it's vaccines. I do think it's likely something in the environment we just haven't figure out yet, though.
above, my great-grandfather William Dozier Hasty [a man my brother looks a lot like] and my great grandmother Virginia McMillan Hasty, parents of Bob Hasty. W.D. Hasty was named for his uncle, William Dozier Hasty, son of Marcus and Nancy Hasty
William Dozier Hasty [1831- 1884] m. Rhoda Woods -- these are the ancestors of my cousin Gordon
